Hit Parade | Only Girl in the World Edition Part 2

Slate Culture

Slate Podcasts

Arts, Tv & Film, Music

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyday, Rihanna was the most productive hitmaker on the charts. Churning out at least one album a year in the late aughts and early ‘10s, Rihanna’s approach to the charts was closer to early Motown or the Beatles than Beyoncé or Taylor. The result: the Barbadian pop deity scored more No. 1s than any 21st century artist, from “SOS” and “Umbrella” through “Diamonds” and “Work.” Join Chris Molanphy as he traces Rihanna’s journey from tropical tyro to commanding chart queen and explores how she found hits at a boundless pace. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Megan, and I've got a new podcast I think you're going to love.
0:05.2	It's called Confessions of a Female Founder, a show where I chat with female entrepreneurs
0:09.1	and friends about the sleepless nights, the lessons learned, and the laser focus that
0:14.6	got them to where they are today.
0:16.5	And through it all, I'm building a business of my own and getting all sorts of practical advice along the way that I'm so excited to share with you.
0:24.9	Confessions of a female founder is out now. Listen, wherever you get your podcast.
0:30.5	A quick heads up. This part of our episode includes descriptions of violence and assault.
0:51.3	Yeah. includes descriptions of violence and assault. Welcome back to Hit Parade, a podcast of Pop Chart History from Slate magazine about the hits from
0:58.9	coast to coast.
1:00.1	I'm Chris Malanfi, chart analyst, pop critic, and writer of Slate's Why Is the Song
1:05.3	Number One series?
1:06.3	On our last episode, we covered the origin story of Rihanna,
1:12.4	how she emerged as a teen from Barbados,
1:15.7	first with island-flavored pop jams
1:18.2	and eventually an eclectic blend of styles,
1:22.3	culminating in chart-topping smashes like SOS,
1:26.6	Umbrella, and Disturbia.
1:29.1	The secret to her success?
1:31.3	Volume.
1:32.3	Rihanna was the most prolific pop star of her era,
1:36.2	issuing albums at twice the pace of her pop peers.
1:40.3	However, as the aughts draw to a close,
	...

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